I'm in the process of switching from a Carvewright to a Stinger from Camaster. I have already received my copy of VCarve and currently working on redesigning all my files since Carvewrights run on PTN files. This project is racking my brain and seems to be beyond my skillset. I have watched all the tutorials on stacking text and trying to apply those techniques to stack the images in the attached file. Anyone who has the time to stack this image and toolpath it I would gladly pay you. This is not a project I have an order for but is something I need to learn. Seeing it completed will give me the opportunity to see all the techniques used to get the results I am looking for. Attached is an image of the project in "Carvewright Form", which shows how I am trying to stack the images. This needs to be done in 2.5D not 3D, any help would be appreciated.

****Unable to upload the JPG image of the finished project. Any suggestions? This is my first post so I imagine I am doing something wrong.****

I have attached the JPG, must have been to large to upload. Thank you for all the links to figure this monster out. I received an email saying I had a private message but when I click on the link is says I am unable to read private messages. What do I need to do to have that ability?

You will need to contact Vectric support in order for them to activate private messaging on your forum account, they do this to try & help prevent members being spammed.Not sure how quickly you will get a response though as a lot of Companies in the UK shut down for Christmas & New Year

Here is the result.I have used layers to separate the different levels to be cut and to combine them. Layer 1 is the original design.I added a border so the VCarve toolpath has has the up and down levels correct.The summed levels (1+2+3+4, etc.) are the actual patterns for VCarve toolpaths. Look at 1+2 to see how they are added together.I made the flat depth for each tool path at only .003" deeper than the previous, so the slopes resulting from the Vbit angle don't cause the separate parts to melt into each other.The start depths for all of the toolpaths are set to 0. Otherwise the side of the V bit when making the deeper cuts will notch into the earlier cuts where the vectors overlap. However, this does make the elements that are carved in the deeper cuts fatter than the actual vectors. One could experiment with making the vectors smaller so the result is closer to the original vector.The track elements do not include a center oblong so the tracks are simpler, similar to your example.

FixitMike, thank you for doing this. I am going to dissect your work in order to gain this skill (stacking several layers). Any advice on how to open this up in Vcarve Pro? I have a trial edition of Aspire so I am to view it through that but am I unable to open files with Vcarve Pro that were made in Aspire? It just seems to me that I should be able to. Am I missing something here.

Breach Point wrote:FixitMike, thank you for doing this. I am going to dissect your work in order to gain this skill (stacking several layers). Any advice on how to open this up in Vcarve Pro? I have a trial edition of Aspire so I am to view it through that but am I unable to open files with Vcarve Pro that were made in Aspire? It just seems to me that I should be able to. Am I missing something here.

Vcarve & Aspire use different file formats so you can't open an aspire file in vcarve, I believe with the trial version of Aspire you can still save the file as a .crv file so vcarve will open it though. If you select "save as" then you will see that option. Any 3d components won't be saved but everything else will be. If the file doesn't contain any 3d components then it will save the complete file